January 20/27, 2020: Volume 35, Issue 15
By Megan Salzano
Stanton Carpet, established in 1980 by Sy Cohen, remains a family-run business built on the mission to deliver high style and value to its customer base. This mission has remained the cornerstone of its service to the industry and throughout its 40-year growth.
Its customer relationships are a testament to that steadfast goal. Many have long-standing histories of camaraderie and mutually beneficial collaborations. Case in point is Donna Dwyre, owner of Cove Carpet in Summit, N.J., who has been a partner with Stanton since 1988. “From the beginning we have watched Sy Cohen [chairman and founder] begin the process of being a leader and trailblazer in the carpet industry,” she told FCNews. “He opened the door, bringing flooring fashion at the retail level in the U.S. He introduced and developed products that were only offered in closed designer showrooms. Once he began he never stopped. Still to this day, in my opinion, Stanton is a company that has done it all.”
Rick Myers, owner of Myers Flooring, with three locations in the Southeast, also nodded to its decades-long relationship with Stanton and the company’s ability to meet his high-end needs. “We made a very conscious decision years ago to go the high end to separate ourselves from the other retailers that had all the same lines, and it has worked out incredibly well for us. Stanton has been a perfect fit in that high-end business,” he said.
Over the course of four decades Stanton has expanded its product offering in an effort to support the evolving needs of the industry and that of the consumer. Since its initial founding, the company has acquired multiple brands and launched some of its own—in 2007 with Antrim Carpet; Rosecore in 2010; Crescent in 2016 and Hibernia in 2017. More recently in 2018 it launched Stanton Main Street, which expanded its reach to the Main Street commercial market.
However, to ring in its 40th year, Stanton stepped outside its carpet comfort zone and entered the hard surface arena with the 2020 launch of Stanton Decorative Waterproof Flooring (FCNews,Jan. 6/13). Jonathan Cohen, president, noted the growing impact of LVT on soft surface flooring and Stanton’s ability to differentiate in this category. The Natural Beauty series includes 24 wood visuals in 7 x 48-inch planks and is supported by merchandising displays in line with its high-style, high-value lineup.
Dwyre touted Stanton’s proven ability to raise its brand awareness around new products and their coordinating displays. “They have a recognizable brand developed though great marketing display fixtures,” she said. “The product lines and categories were given different divisions and collections. From a merchandising perspective that made it easier to present to clients. They developed great displays to house the vast assortment of styles.”
While product is a key selling point for any flooring provider, customer service is perhaps the unsung hero. Stanton touts its unmatched customer service, and its customers agree. In fact, above all, Dwyre said, “Stanton has always had outstanding, committed employees in all aspects, including sales, marketing and operations. We have always carried the entire collections of their products and supported all advertising ventures as their partner.”
For Myers, their relationship will last for the foreseeable future. “We have a great relationship with Stanton and the Cohen family, and there’s nothing to keep us from continuing that for years to come.”
